Barge carrying coal hits reef in La Union

A barge ran aground at a reported marine protected area in the northern province of La Union, spilling an undetermined volume of coal into the water. QTV reported Wednesday that the vessel hit the seabed of San Fernando Bay amid rough waters. Typhoon "Kabayan" (international code name: Peipah) had hammered northern Luzon over the past days. The name of the vessel and the ship owner was still unknown as of posting time. Representatives of the San Fernando City Environmental Office have been deployed to the area to monitor the situation. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Last July 12, at least 11 people died after an overloaded roll-on roll-off (RORO) vessel ran aground off the coast of San Francisco town in Quezon province. Over 120 people were rescued from the sinking of the ill-fated M/V Blue Water Princess. On April 15, another passenger ferry with 141 passengers on board similarly ran aground near an islet in Southern Leyte. The M/V Samar Star was on a collision course with an oncoming vessel at that time, prompting the ferry captain to take a responding maneuver. The Samar Star encountered strong currents, causing it to hit the seabed. The passengers and crew were all reported safe. - GMANews.TV